Locomotive air-charging apparatus



(No Model.) E, HILL.

LOGOMOTIVE AIR QHARGING APPARATUS,

No. 247,915. Patented Ooit. 4,1881

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l .l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EBENEZER HILL, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

LocoMo-rlvE AIR-CHARGING APPARATUS.

y SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,915, dated October 4, 1881.

Application filed April 14V, 1881. (No model.) l i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EBENEZER HILL, of. South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented new and usefulimprovementsiu Locomotive Air-Charging Apparatus for charging pneumatic locomotives and other vessels with air of high pressure, of which the following is a specification.

The present method in use is to have a reservoir. charged with air at a higher pressure than is 'desired to be used, so that when a charge is made to the locomotive or other vessel the reduction in volume will not reduce the pressure below the desired amountfor the work. The consequence isthat all the air in the reservoir must be compressed to the said excess of pressure, whatever that may be.

The object of this invention is to save this excessive waste of power; and it consists in having a numberotl reservoirs charged with air at different pressures and connected to a common pipe for charging the locomotive, and provided with checlcvalves and stop-cocks in such a manner that they may be put in connection in theorder of their increasedpressures until the last or highest pressure-reservoir is drawn from, by which it is evident that the draft upon the highest reservoir will be limited by as much as the other reservoirs have already filled the space to be charged, and therefore only this last reservoir will require to be charged to the maximum of pressure, and l:itsvolume may only be a small proportion ofthe amount of air required. Y

. The invention also consists in the combina' tion of such a system ot' reservoirs with aircompressing apparatus and regulating devices that each reservoir will be charged to a certain degree of pressure and then serve as a source of supply to a second com presser, which, when charged to a certain higher degree, will furnish a third compressor with air-to supply another reservoir, until the maximum pressure desired is obtained, the. entire combination being arcommon discharge or outlet pipe, as at Dto one end of which, as at E, connection is made with the locomotive or tan k to be charged with the required air-pressure. The reservoir at A 1s charged w1tl1 the maximum air-pressure, and

is located farthest from the point ot' connection Vat E, andV it is provided with a stopcock, as at F, to. let the air into the pipe D. The reservoirs at B and C are charged with the next lowest pressures, and they are each provided with a stop-cock, as at G and H, to admit the air from them into the pipe D. They are Vprovided with check-valves, as at D',.opening toward the pipe D, so that when the air of a higher pressure is let into the pipe D it will not flow into a reservoir of a lower pressure.`

Now, ifa pressure of, say, three hundred pounds be required in the tank for actual work, the reservoir at C may be charged to a pressure of one hundred pounds directly from the first compressing-engine, as at K, (the steam-motor beingY represented at L,) and when said press' ure is reached then the surplus may be conducted to a second air-compressor, as at M, through a pipe, M, which is provided with a pressure-valve, as fully described in a recent patent granted to me, and which is set to o'pen whenever a certain pressure has been attained, and the air from the compressor at M is charged into the reservoir at B until a certain pressure is reached-say, of two hundred pounds-when a gage opens a valve, as at M2, and permits the third com presser to supply the third reservoir, which must be charged to the maximum pressure, and by this system can be maintained unless greater drafts are made than the conipressors are capable of supplying.

It a locomotive is to be supplied it is connected to the pipe D, outside ofthe valve at E, and the rst cock is opened to admit air from the reservoir at C of the lowest pressure, which VSo IOO

tothe maximum capacity is saved to the extent of' the dierences between the pressures of the reservoirs in the system.

If the pipe D leading` to the locomotive or other tank to be supplied should be of' considerable length, it will contain a large quantity ot' air at the highest pressure. Consequently, to prevent its being wasted, returnpipes are connected to the pipe D and leading back to the reservoirs 'B and C, as shown at P and R, and they are provided with stopcoeks, so that after the tank is filled the cock at E is closed and the cock at P opened to let the air return into the reservoir B, which is at a lower pressure than in A or in the pipe D. Then, after the pressure in reservoir B and the pipe D are equalized, the eoek at R is opened,

and the air from the pipe D returns into thereservoir G until its pressure is equalized, so that there is not any actual loss f air after it has passed the compressors, nor loss of power ranged in a different form from that shown, and that a greater or less number ot' reservoirs may be used; but

I claim- 1. The combination of two or more reservoirs connected to a supply-pipe provided with stopcocks and cheek-valves for supplying air to locomotives or other tanks for drawing the air first from the reservoir under least pressure,

and by which an unnecessary waste of power is prevented, as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of two or more reservoirs with air-compressing origines, whereby vari able degrees of pressure may be maintained between the compressors and the reservoirs and with each other, as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The process ot' supplying tanks with air at high pressures by first charging the tank from a reservoir at the lowest pressure and then from air at a higher pressure, and so on until the maximum degree of pressures is attained, as hereinbefore set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EBENEZER HILL. fL. s]

Witnesses:

EUGENE N. ELIoT, C. J. HILL. 

